Former Ottawa teacher sentenced to 2 years in prison for sex crimes appeals conviction

Disgraced former Ottawa teacher Rick Watkins has appealed his conviction hours after a judge sentenced him to two years in prison for sex crimes against former students.

Watkins' lawyer says no date has been set for the Court of Appeal to hear the case.

Watkins, who was also known as Rick Despatie, was found guilty in September on four counts of sexual assault, four counts of sexual interference, two counts of criminal harassment and one count of sexual exploitation.

On Monday, a judge sentenced Watkins to two years in a federal penitentiary, plus two years probation.

"We must be able to trust that teachers will not abuse their students," said Justice Ann Alder when delivering the sentence. "Mr. Watkins knew what he was doing. He made comments to some victims about their reaction. This was a pattern. A pattern that continued for years."

Watkins' lawyer said he had "no comment" after the sentence was handed down.

The case involved four former students with the crimes spanning over seven years, up until 2021. The court heard the incidents took place in class and when he was offering students extra help for their studies.

Watkins had originally been facing 54 charges but the Crown says it proceeded on 20 charges in total. Watkins was acquitted of nine offenses. When charges were laid, both the school board and the Ontario College of Teachers had said they were investigating how complaints over the years were handled.

The Crown had asked for a five-year prison sentence, which Alder found was excessive. She also found the defence's submission for a one-year conditional sentence insufficient.

Justice Alder acknowledged Watkins had a difficult childhood where he was abused and in foster care. She also noted many letters of support from colleagues and family who said he was a good teacher.

However, the nature of the crimes, ages of the victims and the fact Watkins was in a position of trust as a teacher were listed as aggravating factors.

Watkins has to abide by several orders as part of his sentence. That includes providing a DNA sample and he will be placed on the sexual offender's registry. He also can't communicate with the victims or be within 250 metres of where they may be for 10 years.

Watkins resigned as a teacher in 2021. 

The Ottawa Catholic School Board had said there was going to be a review into how complaints against Watkins had been handled. When asked for an update on when the results of that review would be released, the board told CTV News Ottawa on Monday that "HR reports or investigations related to personnel are not shared with the media." The board said it would not be offering further comment.

In a statement in September, the board said all staff complete the "Commit to Kids" program which aims to safeguard children from abuse and that the Ontario College of Teachers has mandated mandatory sexual abuse prevention training for teachers since 2022.

"A key aspect of this policy is the reporting process for concerns related to possible sexual abuse or grooming of children. Previously, reports were only shared with a school staff member. Now, there is a mandatory requirement to report concerns to the superintendent of human resources, who acts as a separate third party to review the report," the board said.

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With files from CTV News Ottawa's Katie Griffin and Natalie van Rooy